Device, System, and Method for Tracking Multiple Projectiles

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/462,895 filed on Sep. 7, 2023; which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/305,498 filed on Jul. 8, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,921,190; which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/514,384 filed on Jul. 17, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,086,005; which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/206,996 filed on Jul. 11, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,379,214. The entire disclosure of the above application(s)/patent(s) is expressly incorporated herein by reference.

Systems are known for tracking the flight of a single projectile such as a golf ball. However, tracking becomes significantly more difficult in situations where multiple projectiles are being launched from multiple launch areas into a common target area. Although it would be possible to provide a dedicated tracking system for each launching area, depending on the number of launch areas, the cost of such an arrangement may be prohibitive. In addition, where many projectiles are being launched at unpredictable intervals, trajectories of projectiles may intersect (or nearly intersect) requiring the system to distinguish between these trajectories to ensure that portions of the trajectories after the intersection are associated with the proper initial trajectory (before intersection) to ensure that the full trajectory for each projectile is accurately determined.

The present invention relates to a system for tracking multiple projectiles comprising a first radar device aimed so that a field of view of the first radar device covers at least a portion of a target area into which projectiles are to be launched from a plurality of launch locations and a processor receiving data from the radar and identifying from the data tracks of a plurality of projectiles, the processor determining for each projectile track identified a specific one of the launch locations from which the projectile was launched and providing to the launch location associated with each projectile data corresponding to a trajectory of the projectile.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the system of further includes a second radar device aimed so that a second field of view of the second radar device covers at least a portion of the target volume including a portion of the target volume outside the first field of view as well as an overlap portion of the target volume also included in the first field of view.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the device associated with each location includes a screen displaying the data.

According to an exemplary embodiment, for each of a plurality of time frames, the processor receives from the first radar device a radar signal and calculates from this radar signal projectile data including position and speed values for each projectile identified.

According to an exemplary embodiment, for each time frame, the processor refers to data from at least one prior time frame and determines for each projectile identified, whether the projectile data correlates with an existing trajectory and, when the projectile data correlates with an existing trajectory, the processor updates the existing trajectory with which the current projectile data correlates to include the current projectile data.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when the current projectile data for an identified projectile does not correlate with an existing trajectory, initiating a new trajectory.

According to an exemplary embodiment, for each trajectory the processor compares an initial projectile position to known launch locations and, if the initial projectile position matches a known launch location, the processor assigns this launch location to the trajectory.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when the initial projectile position for a trajectory does not match a known launch location, the processor, based on the trajectory, extrapolates backward in time from the initial projectile position to a launch location for the projectile.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the multiple projectiles are golf balls being launched in a driving range and wherein the processor compares launch locations to known locations of a plurality of hitting bays from which golf balls are hit into the driving range, with each hitting bay being identified by the processor as a single launch location so that any golf balls launched from any location within a hitting bay are identified as originating from that hitting bay and provides to a device associated with the hitting bay the data corresponding to a trajectory of the projectile.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the system further includes a third radar device aimed so that a third field of view of the second radar device covers at least a portion of the target volume including a portion of the target volume outside the first and second fields of view as well as an overlap portion of the target volume also included in one of the first and second fields of view.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the first radar device is positioned at a first end of the target volume at which the launch locations are located with the first field of view extending into the target volume from the launch locations toward a far end of the target volume, the second radar device is positioned on a first lateral side of the target volume facing the first end of the target volume and including a first portion of launch locations including a first location adjacent to the first lateral side, the third radar device is positioned on a second lateral side of the target volume facing the first end of the target volume and including a second portion of launch locations including a second location adjacent to the first lateral side.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the second and third fields of view overlap so that the entire first end of the target volume is within at least one of the second and third fields of view.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the processor receives position data from a device associated with a user and identifies a location of the device as a known launch location.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the position data received by the processor is GPS data from a mobile device.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the processor identifies as known launch locations for each of a plurality of devices logged in as users of the system.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when the processor identifies a projectile as potentially associated with a known launch location, the processor sends to the device associated with the known launch location trajectory information for the projectile and a request to the user of the device to confirm that the projectile is associated with the known launch location.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the first radar device is a continuous wave Doppler radar.

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments relate to a device, a system, and a method using radar to track multiple projectiles being launched from multiple launching locations as the projectiles move through an area and identifying the launching location from which each projectile was launched. Depending on the physical size on the launch areas as well as practical issues like line-of-sight blockage for a first radar device, it may be desirable to have one or more additional radar devices in the system to increase the coverage of the volume being covered by the system. It is preferable to cover the entire range of launch areas, so that the launched projectiles can be acquired shortly after launch by the system, to enable association of projectile trajectories and related data to individual launch locations. Although exemplary embodiments detailed herein describe the tracking of golf balls, those skilled in the art will understand that any sports balls or even non-sports related projectiles may be tracked with the system in the same manner.

1 FIG. 1 FIG. 100 100 102 102 102 100 104 106 108 104 shows a first systemfor tracking an object according to the exemplary embodiments. The first systemincludes three radar devices,′,″ distributed around a target area into which projectiles are to be launched. In the embodiment of, the systemis a system for tracking golf balls hit into the target area (driving range) from a plurality of launch locations (hitting bays) distributed along a first endof the driving range. Each radar unit may, for example, be a continuous wave Doppler radar emitting microwaves at X-band (10.5-10.6 GHz) emitting approximately 500 milliWatts EIRP (Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power), thus being suitable for complying with FCC and CE regulations for short range intentional radiators. Any type of continuous wave (CW) Doppler radar may be used, including phase or frequency modulated CW radar, multi frequency CW radar or a single frequency CW radar. Current pulsed radar systems are limited in their ability to track objects that are close to the radar device. However, the distance an object must be from these pulsed radar systems has decreased over time and is expected to continue to decrease.

Thus these types of radar may soon be effective for these operations and their use in the systems of the invention described below is also contemplated. Throughout the application the tracking of objects is described based on the use of Doppler frequency spectrums. As would be understood, these Doppler frequency spectrums refer to the data from continuous wave Doppler radar. If a pulsed radar system were employed similar data would be calculated based on a time required for the pulse to return to the radar after reflecting off an object. Any other type of radar capable of three-dimensionally tracking objects similar to those described herein may also be used.

1 2 FIGS.and 102 106 108 102 106 110 102 106 102 110 102 106 110 102 106 102 102 104 102 102 104 102 102 102 104 106 102 112 102 106 106 102 104 102 114 104 116 104 102 102 114 120 106 102 102 102 110 112 118 As seen in, the first radar deviceis positioned behind the hitting baysfacing the target area. The radar deviceis positioned such that most of the projectile trajectories launched from the hitting bayswill be inside the field of view(beam coverage) of the devicewithout any blockage from buildings and other structures. For a multi floor facility with hitting bayson different levels this means that the radar deviceis typically positioned either a) centered on façade of the hitting bays between the hitting bay floors, or, alternatively, b) on the roof of the hitting bays. Depending on the number of hitting bays horizontally and the field of view, it might be preferred to position the radar devicein alternative b) approximately 0-25 m behind the front of the hitting baysand approximately 3 m above the highest hitting bay floor. In this exemplary embodiment, the field of viewof the radarextends outward from the hitting baysand encompasses the radar devices′ and″ therein as well as the entire portion of the driving rangethat extends beyond the radar devices′,″ (the portion offurther from the hitting bays than the radar units′,″). The radar device′ is on the right hand side of the driving range(when looking toward the hitting bays) aimed inward toward the radar deviceso that a field of viewof the radar device′ includes a first portion of the hitting bays(including all of the hitting baysto the right of the radar deviceas well as a portion of the driving rangein front of the radar device′ extending from the right hand limitof the driving rangeto extend across a centerlineof the driving range. In this exemplary embodiment, the radar devices′ and″ are positioned at the right and left hand limits,, respectively, approximately 75 meters from the hitting bays. However, those skilled in the art will understand that any other positions for the radar devices,′,″ may be selected so long as the fields of view,,cover the entirety of the target area to avoid blind spots in which trajectory data would not be available.

102 104 102 118 102 106 106 102 104 102 120 104 116 104 112 118 122 106 106 112 118 102 102 104 110 112 118 104 Similarly, the radar device″ is on the left hand side of the driving rangeaimed inward toward the radar deviceso that a field of viewof the radar device″ includes a second portion of the hitting bays(including all of the hitting baysto the left of the radar deviceas well as a portion of the driving rangein front of the radar device″ extending from the left hand limitof the driving rangeto extend across a centerlineof the driving range. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, the fields of viewandoverlap in an areaincluding a central one of the hitting baysto ensure that all of the hitting baysare within a field of view,of one of the radars′,″. In addition, this arrangement ensures that the entire area of the driving rangeis within one of the fields of view,,so that each projectile can be tracked throughout its entire trajectory (limited to portions of trajectories that are within the driving range).

110 112 118 110 112 118 122 110 112 118 100 102 102 102 110 112 118 102 102 102 110 112 118 106 114 116 112 102 122 104 110 102 100 102 100 102 102 102 110 118 110 100 102 102 102 As would be understood by those skilled in the art, a projectile may move through different areas during its flight such as a first area solely within only one of the fields of view,,to an area covered by more than one field of view,,(e.g., overlap area) and then into an area within only a different one of the fields of view,,. As the projectile moves from one field of view to another, the systemmust continuously associate tracking data for an initial part of the trajectory from a first one of the radar devices,′,″ associated the corresponding field of view,,with tracking data corresponding to a later part of the trajectory from a second one of the radar devices,′,″ corresponding to the field of view,,which the projectile has entered. For example, a golf ball launched from the fourth hitting bayfrom the right hand limitalong trajectory line T toward the centerlinefirst enters the field of viewof the radar device′. The ball will then pass into the overlap areaand from there enters a portion of the driving rangethat is solely within the field of viewof the radar device. For an initial part of the trajectory, the systemwill have data corresponding to the trajectory only from the radar device′. For a second part of the trajectory, the systemwill have data corresponding to this trajectory from radar devices,′ and″. Thereafter, the ball may pass through an area in which fields of viewandoverlap before entering the area solely within the field of view. The method by which the systemcorrelates the trajectory data from the various radar devices,′,″ to generate a complete trajectory (e.g., from launch to landing) will be described in more detail below.

100 200 102 102 102 200 202 202 202 102 102 102 204 202 202 202 The systemincludes data processing systemwhich, as would be understood by those skilled in the art, may include one or more computers coupled to the radar devices,′ and″ either via a wired or wireless connection. In one embodiment, the data processing systemincludes separate computers,′ and″, each of which is associated with a corresponding one of the radar devices,′,″ as well as a central computerthat coordinates data from the three computers,′,″. However, those skilled in the art will understand that all of the operations described below can be performed by a single computer or on any number of computers with the various tasks distributed among the computers in any desired fashion.

202 202 202 204 204 202 202 202 204 110 112 118 104 110 112 118 100 106 104 In one exemplary embodiment, each of the computers,′ and″ defines its own three-dimensional radar coordinate system relating to data from its corresponding radar device. The central computerthen defines a universal coordinate system into which the central computertranslates the tracking data formatted in the respective radar coordinate systems as this data is from each of the computers,′,″. This permits the central computerto track all objects moving through the space in the fields of view,andand to plot the trajectories of these objects relative to the driving range. Those skilled in the art will understand that the universal coordinate system may be made identical to one of the radar coordinate systems to simplify calculation. However, it may be desirable to define the universal coordinate system based on permanent physical features present in one of the fields of view,,so that the systemmay be recalibrated with reference to these permanent physical features. For example, the universal coordinate system may be based on a horizontal first axis extending from a center of a central one of the hitting baysto a center of an endline of the driving range, a second horizontal axis perpendicular to the first axis and a third axis extending vertically through an intersection of the first and second axes.

204 106 104 106 106 106 204 202 202 202 102 102 102 110 112 118 110 112 118 202 202 202 204 110 112 118 204 202 202 202 The central computerwill also follow the trajectory of each object backward to identify the hitting bayfrom which each object was launched. Thus, in the case of the driving range, each shot can be linked to its hitting bayand the individual golfers may be provided with data on their shots (e.g., via a screen at each hitting bay) even when balls are being launched from multiple hitting baysat nearly the same time. In addition, the central computerprovides to each of the computers,′,″ all data regarding all of the objects being tracked so that each of the radars devices,′,″ can search for objects entering its respective field of view,,, respectively, at known locations (i.e., locations at which current trajectories will enter one of the fields of view,,). Each of the computers,′ and″ may then translate this data from the central computerinto its own radar specific coordinate system so that each object can be continuously tracked even as these objects pass through the different fields of view,,. Those skilled in the art will understand that, alternatively, the central computermay perform the translation and provide the data to each of the computers,′,″ in its respective coordinate system.

3 a FIG. 3 a FIG. 300 202 202 202 202 202 202 202 102 202 202 102 102 The flow chart ofshows a methodof operation implemented by the computers,′,″ which method is repeated at each time interval for which measurements are taken. For example, in an exemplary system, each computer,′,″ may perform the method ofevery 10 ms (or 100 times per second). Although the method will be described only in regard to the computerand the radar device, those skilled in the art will understand that the same steps will be performed by the computers′,″ in regard to data from the radar devices′ and″.

310 202 102 320 102 330 202 110 102 340 202 204 102 204 3 b FIG. For each time interval, in stepthe computerreceives data from the radar deviceand, in step, calculates the Doppler frequency spectrum (see), for example, by using a fast fourier transform for all of the channels of the radar devicein a known manner. In step, the computeruses known techniques to identify local intensity maxima from the Doppler frequency spectrum creating peaks representing objects moving through the field of viewof the radar device. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, for each Doppler frequency peak, 3D position and other data (velocity, signal to noise ratio, etc.) for an object represented in the radar data are calculated for the identified peak. In the following, a peak is considered including corresponding 3D position, velocity, signal to noise ratio and other characteristics for the given object at that point in time. In stepthe computerforwards to the central computerdata corresponding to the identified peaks represented in the coordinate system of the radar device. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, in an alternate embodiment, the computer may translate the data corresponding to the identified peaks into the universal coordinate system before forwarding this data to the central computer.

204 202 202 202 340 400 110 112 118 410 204 202 202 202 420 430 204 500 4 FIG. For each time interval, the central computerreceives the data generated by the computers,′,″ in stepand performs the methodofto track all of the projectiles within the fields of view,,determined to be relevant (e.g., for a driving range, all projectiles determined to be golf balls in flight). For example, as would be understood by those skilled in the art, moving items which do not follow the patterns associated with ballistic flight (example, birds) can be detected and eliminated from the analysis. In step, the central computerreceives data from each of the computers,′,″ for the current time interval and, in step, converts this data to the universal coordinate system. In step, the central computerdetermines whether each peak represented in the data can be assigned to an existing trajectory or whether a new trajectory should be initiated. This process is more clearly illustrated by the method.

5 FIG. 204 102 102 102 510 204 As shown in, for each time interval the central computeranalyzes each of the peaks received from all of the radars,′,″ to determine if the peak N matches an existing track M. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, a track is a time sequence of 3-dimensional positions and other trajectory data associated with a moving object. In stepthe central computercompares the peak N to each existing track to determine whether the peak N matches any of the existing tracks. Those skilled in the art will understand that the central computer may determine whether a peak represents a new point on an existing trajectory by comparing the new position and velocity data to data from existing tracks (e.g., by comparing data from the peak to that for each track from one or more prior time intervals) to determine whether the new data is consistent with prior velocity and position data for any of the tracks.

204 600 600 That is, if the central computerdetermines that a distance between a prior ball position and the new peak is equal to (within a certain tolerance) a distance that which would have been traversed by the ball of an existing track M at its prior velocity and this distance is consistent with a direction of the prior velocity, this peak will be assigned to this prior trajectory M. If the peak N matches an existing track M, the method proceeds to. If the new peak N is not consistent with any existing trajectory, it will be assigned as the initial point for a new trajectory and the method proceeds to.

600 204 106 610 106 204 106 620 106 106 106 106 204 630 106 640 106 106 6 FIG. In methodas shown in, for each Track M the central computerdetermines whether the track is associated with a specific one of the hitting bays. In step, if the Track M is not associated with a hitting bay, the central computerassociates the Track M with a hitting bayin stepby, for example, moving back in time along the Track M to an initial point at one of the hitting bays. Alternatively, if an initial point of the Track M is not at one of the hitting bays(e.g., the ball was not picked up until it had travelled a distance from its launch), the specific hitting baymay be identified by extrapolating back in time (e.g., continuing the Track M back in time along a path consistent with its later trajectory) until the Track M reaches one of the hitting bays. The central computerthen, in step, calculates launch data for the ball associated with Track M and forwards the data to the hitting bay Qassociated with this Track M. The method then proceeds to step. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, the data forwarded to the hitting bay(or other location) associated with the launch location of a Track M may include graphic data illustrating a flight path of the ball from one or more perspectives, tabular data concerning variables such as launch speed, average speed, launch angle relative to the horizontal, spin rate, spin axis, distance covered, maximum height, etc. In addition, this data may be provided to a device associated with the hitting bay Q(or any other location) associated with the launch location. For example, this device may be a screen displaying the data, a mobile device associated with a user located at the launch location, etc.

610 106 640 640 204 204 204 204 640 650 660 106 640 204 670 680 106 106 106 106 106 If, in step, the Track M is associated with a specific hitting bay Q, the method proceeds to step. In stepthe central computerdetermines whether the ball has landed. For example, if the Track M has proceeded upward along an arc, peaked and then continued to descend along an arc and in the current time interval the height of the ball is the same or higher in the previous time interval, the central computerdetermines that the ball has landed. Alternatively, the computermay make this determination based on a comparison between an elevation of the ball and a known elevation of the surface at the current location of the ball. If the central computerdetermines in stepthat the ball has landed, the Track M is terminated in stepand final data is calculated in stepand forwarded to the user in the identified hitting bay Q. If, in stepthe central computerdetermines that the ball has not yet landed, in stepthe Track M is smoothed (e.g., filtered to reduce noise) and in stepthe updated smoothed Track M is provided to the user in the hitting bay Qassociated with the Track M. Those skilled in the art will understand that this information may also be forwarded to any number of hitting baysas desired. For example, if multiple hitting baysare involved in a competition, all of the Tracks associated with these hitting baysmay be provided to all of these hitting bays. For Tracks M that have not been terminated, the process repeats for the next time interval.

7 8 FIGS.and 7 FIG. 7 8 FIGS.and 7 FIG. 8 8 a c FIGS.- a c a 8 1 1 2 2 1 2 710 8 1 2 710 710 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 -show a method for dealing with situations where two or more balls are close enough together in time and Doppler frequency that one or more of the tracks is obscured by another of the tracks. Specifically, as seen in, in this example, Track Tfor a ballcrosses a Track Tfor balland the Track for Tinterrupts the Track Tfor a period of time represented by the gray areain each of-C. The Tracks Tand Toverlap in the perspective offor the time rangeso that, when the two tracks diverge after this overlap, the computer dedicated to the radar generating the data may not be able to determine immediately which of the later Track portions a and b is associated with Tand which is associated with T. However, when the data included in the Tracks Tand Tis broken down to show the paths of the ballsandover time as shown in, it becomes clear that the portion a is a continuation of Track Twhile the portion b is a continuation of the Track T.

1 2 1 2 That is a comparison of the travel represented by the portions a and b with the initial portions of the Tracks Tand Tmakes clear to which track the portions a and b should be assigned. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, the system may also compare other parameters such as, for example, the velocity represented by the initial portions of the Tracks Tand Twith the velocity represented in portions a and b to enhance the accuracy of the selection.

9 10 FIGS.and 900 900 902 902 902 902 100 902 902 902 902 905 905 905 905 907 100 902 902 102 102 100 102 900 902 902 908 906 102 910 906 902 910 912 906 902 910 914 916 918 920 922 902 902 902 902 110 112 118 102 102 102 100 907 900 905 905 905 905 204 202 202 202 900 906 908 100 show a systemfor tracking a plurality of objects according to a further exemplary embodiment. The systemincludes four radar devices,′,″,″′. Similar to the system, each of the radar devices,′,″,″′ is coupled to a corresponding computer,′,″,″, respectively, and each of these radar computers is connected to a central computerin the same manner as described above in regard to system. The radar devices″ and″′ are positioned in the same manner as the radar devices′ and″ of the systemwhile the radar devicehas been replaced in systemwith the two radar devices,′. Each of the radars is located behind the hitting baysof the driving rangeand positioned similarly to the radarexcept that, instead of being located on a centerlineof the driving range, the radar deviceis offset from the centerlinetoward a right edgeof the driving rangewhile the radar device′ is offset from the centerlinetoward a left edge. Thus the fields of view,,,of radar devices,′,″,″, respectively, overlap in a manner similar to the fields of view,,of the radar devices,′,″, respectively, of system. The central computerof the systemcoordinates with the computers,′,″,″′ in the same manner as the central computercommunicates with the computers,′,″ to track projectiles moving between the various fields of view. The four radar device arrangement of systemprovides a more complete coverage of the area of the driving rangeand the hitting baysthan in systembut otherwise operates similarly.

11 12 FIGS.and 11 12 FIGS.and 1100 1100 1102 1102 1100 900 1102 1102 902 902 1108 1106 1100 1108 902 902 1100 100 1110 1112 1102 1102 1106 1300 1106 1100 1102 1102 1108 1100 1110 1120 1100 1102 108 1102 1102 show a systemfor tracking a plurality of objects according to a further exemplary embodiment. The systemincludes two radar devices,′. The systemis similar to the systemwith the radar devicesand′ positioned substantially similarly to the radar devices,′ behind the hitting baysof the driving range. In the system, however, there are no additional radar devices positioned in front of the hitting baysas were the radar devices″,″′. Those skilled in the art will understand that the systemmay include a similar arrangement of radar computers coupled to an optional central computer operating in a manner similar to the computers of the system. As can be seen in, the fields of view,of the radar devices,′, respectively, overlap while leaving certain portions of the driving rangeuncovered. As will be described below in regard to the system, portions of trajectories passing through these uncovered portions of the driving rangewill be extrapolated by the systembased on the portions of the trajectories detected by the radar devices,′ to identify a specific hitting bayfrom which each ball was launched and to complete the trajectory for each ball to its landing point. The systemis well suited for golf driving ranges with only a single elevation level of hitting locations. In this case ball trajectories will quickly be inside field of viewand/orwithout line of sight being obstructed by a building as may be the case in a multi-floor hitting facility. Obviously the systemmight consist of one, two or more radarsdepending on the need for covering a specific width of launch area and how far behind the hitting locationthe radar devicesand′ can be placed.

13 14 FIGS.and 13 14 FIGS.and 1300 1300 1302 1304 1302 1300 1306 1308 1310 1306 1304 1308 As seen in, a systemfor tracking a plurality of objects according to a further exemplary embodiment. The systemincludes a single radar devicepositioned so that a field of viewof the radar deviceincludes substantially all of a target area into which projectiles are to be launched. In the embodiment of, the systemis a system for tracking golf balls hit into the target area (driving range) from a plurality of launch areas (hitting bays) distributed along a first endof the driving range. The field of viewof this embodiment includes all of the hitting bays.

13 14 FIGS.and 1302 1312 1306 1308 1302 1308 For example, as seen in, the radaris placed substantially centered on an end lineof the driving rangeelevated by a desired distance. This type of setup is desirable if sufficient signal-to-noise ratio and positional accuracy can be achieved on the projectile trajectories close to the hitting bays, so that the system can still accurately associate each trajectory with a hitting bay in the launch area. If this was a golf driving range, this would typically require that the radarshould be positioned approximately 60-250 m in front of the hitting bays. This type of setup would be very suitable for a golf driving range with limited flight distance of the golf ball, e.g. because the golf ball is stopped by a net.

1302 1300 100 1302 100 1304 1305 1308 The radar unitfor this embodiment may, for example, be a higher powered Doppler radar emitting microwaves at X-band and with high enough positional measurement accuracy to ensure accurate association of projectile trajectories with hitting bays. Thus, the systemoperates substantially similarly to the systemexcept that each ball will be tracked based solely on data from the radar deviceand there is no need for more than one coordinate system or for any hand-off of tracking from one radar device to another as there was with the system. For portions of any ball's flight that are outside of the field of view, the computercan extrapolate forward or backward in time to estimate the entire trajectory of the ball from launch (e.g., identify a hitting bayfrom which it was launched) to landing.

1300 1306 100 1302 1302 1300 1300 1302 1302 1306 Those skilled in the art will understand that the systemmay still employ a universal coordinate system based on identifiable physical landmarks in the driving rangein the same manner as described above for the system. In this scenario, the coordinate system for the radar devicemay originally be set to coincide perfectly with the universal coordinate system. However, if the deviceis moved at any time, the systemmovement may be measured and any changes in position or aiming may be accounted for with the systemtranslating the new radar specific coordinate system (for the device) into the universal coordinate system in order to accurately relate measurements from the deviceto positions on the driving range.

14 FIG. 1 1308 1304 0 1304 1302 1304 1304 1305 1302 1 0 1308 1305 1 1 1 1305 1 1 108 0 1 As shown in, an exemplary Track Tof a golf ball leaves a hitting baythat is outside the field of viewat time Tand enters the field of viewsoon after launch at time Ti. The radar devicepicks up the ball when it enters the field of viewand tracks the ball until the ball leaves the field of viewat time Tf. The computergenerates a trajectory for ball based on data from the radar devicecovering the entire time from Ti to Tf and, based on this trajectory, extrapolates an initial portion of the trajectory Textending from Tto Ti to identify the hitting bayfrom which the ball was launched. The computerthen extrapolates the portion Tof the trajectory Textending from time Tf to time Tat which the ball lands. The computerthen assembles the entire trajectory Tand sends the data corresponding to this trajectory Tto the hitting bayidentified as the launch location for the ball. Those skilled in the art will understand that this same extrapolation process may be used in any of the described systems to account for any time during which a ball either leaves the fields of view of the radar(s) or for any time period during which the system loses track of the ball for any reason.

106 100 Those skilled in the art will understand that, although the previously described embodiments describe discrete hitting bays, the system(or any of the other systems disclosed herein) may identify the hitting locations associated with each of the detected projectile tracks. These hitting locations may then be associated with a user of the system associated with each projectile. In the case of a golf driving range, the users may be permitted to hit from any location within a large launch area. Each user may then be associated with a particular location from which balls are being hit by logging into the system (e.g., over wifi or another wireless network) using an electronic device with location capability. For example, a user may log on to the system using a mobile phone having GPS or any other electronic location system and the system may associate with this device all shots hit from any location that is closer to the current location of this device than to any other logged in device. Alternatively, or in addition, the system may query a device to which it is considering associating one or more shots and ask the user of the device to indicate whether or not he actually took any or all of the indicated shots (Tracks). Based on the user response, the system may then associate future tracks from a given location with this user (user device). Those skilled in the art will understand that this variation may be used with any or all of the previously described systems.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardware platform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows platform, a Linux platform, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. In a further example, the exemplary embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent.